The Promised Land – by Courtney Gilmore

God promised Abraham that the land of Israel would one day belong to his descendants. Almost 500 years later, God gave the land over to them. That’s a long time to wait for a promise to come true. Although Abraham knew he wouldn’t ever see this promise come to fruition. God would fulfill it for his descendants instead. So, Abraham looked towards a more permanent promised land. This was a heavenly country, a city built by God Himself. This promise, too, is handed down to generations and we are the ones who will inherit this land. Our home there is being prepared by Jesus Himself. Like Abraham, all we need to do to receive this land is step out in faith. If we believe in the One who calls us and follow Him all our lives, we become children of God and heirs with Jesus of this eternal land.

The Last Seven Tribes – Joshua 18:1-10

            Because their original camp in Gilgal was close to the Jordan River in the Far East, they moved their camp to Shiloh so it would be more centrally located. This is where they also set up the Tabernacle, which is where the Ark of the Covenant stayed. This would be their central meeting place and place of worship until the ark found its permanent residence in Jerusalem on the order of King David.

            By this time, there were still seven tribes who had not received their inheritance because they had not taken initiative like the others. So, Joshua gathered the remaining tribes and told them to survey the land, divide it into seven pieces, and bring him a detailed description of each. When they returned, Joshua cast lots for each division. This is how the Lord had instructed them to choose because it put nothing in their hands. Instead, God was actually deciding and just revealing his choice through the casting process. Proverbs 16:33

Benjamin’s Land – Joshua 18:11-28

The first lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin, giving him the portion of land between Judah and Joseph in the center of what is now the West Bank. It was just a small sliver of land that began at the northern bay of the Salt Sea and went a few miles up the Jordan River, reaching both boundaries of the West Bank. Jericho, Gibeon, and Avvim were all significant cities in the land of Benjamin. Avvim was one place the Israelites had not yet conquered by the Israelites. Benjamin also shared Jerusalem with Judah, so the northern portion belonged to him.

Bethel was also in this land and was a very historically prominent city. This where God first promised Abraham the land. It is also the place we identify with Jacob’s Ladder. His father, Isaac, sent him away from the land when he betrayed his brother and stole his birthright. He stopped for the night in Bethel, and he had a dream. A ladder extended from heaven to earth, and angels were going back and forth. God stood above the ladder and extended Abraham’s blessing to Jacob. So, this was the place identified with the Promise, where they both built monuments to the Lord. Its former name was Luz, but Jacob called it Bethel which means the house of God, because God met with him there. Then, after many years of being away, this is the place where Jacob finally made his home. Here, God returned to him again after he fled from Shechem and reiterated the Promise. This time, God also renamed him Israel and told him that his twelve sons would inherit the land and become a nation there.